The hidden and apparent dangers of spending 70-90 hours every week at work Premium

Stalwarts of our MNCs recommending that employees work 70 to 90 hours at work every week ignore health implications of undertaking such long hours of work

A Pandora’s box has been opened, with recent opinions of a few stalwarts of our multi-national companies recommending that employees work 70 to 90 hours at work every week. What they have ignored are the health implications of undertaking such long hours of work - there are both physical and mental health issues associated with marathon work sessions.

The total number of people working long hours is gradually increasing globally. It stands at 9% worldwide. Obviously it is significantly much higher in India, China and other third world countries. The COVID-19 pandemic has blurred the boundaries of work and home. The health consequences of long working hours depends on the length of working hours, nature of job, socioeconomic strata and the overall health of the individual. Long working hours through the night routinely is even worse than working long hours, studies have shown.

Health impacted deeply

The physical and mental strain of an overworked society starts with acute physiological responses such as fatigue, stress, depression, impaired sleep and unhealthy lifestyle changes in response to stress. Epidemiological studies have shown the negative effects of long working hours on the risks of cardiovascular diseases and strokes.

A U-shaped relationship between the risk of suffering from heart attacks and working hours has been well documented among Japanese workers. Those working less than 7 hours or more than 11 hours per day were at greatest risk of experiencing heart attacks than those working between 7-11 hours. There are also several peer reviewed articles published from Europe, Japan, Korea and China documenting increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, myocardial infarction and coronary artery disease in people who work more than 50 hours a week.

On the other side, it might not even truly help increase productivity - research from the Stanford economist John Pencavel documents that productivity per hour declines sharply when a person works more than 50 hours a week. After 55 hours, the decline is steep. Countries with long working hours like Greece and Mexico, essentially do not have higher GDPs per capita compared to countries with shorter working hours like Germany and Norway.

Non communicable diseaes